


All I Want

by bulletincookie



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Fluff, Guardian Angel AU, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2019-12-30 13:06:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18315851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bulletincookie/pseuds/bulletincookie
Summary: What happens when a lazy guardian angel is assigned to a human that works too hard and hardly gets in danger? Well, he has to find ways to entertain himself, of course.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I promised myself I'd use all 50k words for Camp Nanowrimo on The Cygnus Thief. And then this idea popped up.
> 
> ANYWAYS, here's some more luxport! Another idea that's going to turn into a multichapter
> 
> Names:  
> João: Portugal  
> Claude: Luxembourg  
> Arthur: England

“You would not _believe_ the case I’ve been assigned.”

João slapped the file down on Arthur’s desk, the two snow white wings on his back puffed out from irritation. Arthur glanced up, his deep green eyes giving away how unimpressed he was.

“How you managed to become a guardian angel is beyond me,” he muttered, pulling the file closer and opening it up to glance over it.

It was true, it was strange enough that João managed to get into heaven, for him to be made a guardian angel was even more odd. It was a good fit for him, he could be very protective over whoever he was assigned to, but it was not uncommon for him to complain the entire time and often slack off unless he was needed. Arthur had chosen not to become a guardian angel, and instead worked to keep everything in order and organized.

“What’s wrong with this?” Arthur asked, leaning in closer to the file with a furrowed brow. “Wait, he’s already 24? Why did he not have a guardian angel before?”

“He did, she asked to be transferred. Now I’m stuck with this guy, right after I got done with one too,” João whined, leaning on the desk. Arthur rolled his eyes and shut the file to slide it back towards João.

“Have you seen him in person yet?”

“Yeah, and he’s so boring! He does almost nothing but office work!”

“What’s the problem with that?”

“I don’t even need to do anything, he’s never in danger! No wonder the previous girl asked to be transferred, I’m about to go make a deal with a demon just to cause trouble I can save him from!”

“Do not joke about such things.” Arthur gave João a sharp look. “You know how much damage that causes.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I was joking, relax.” João picked up the file again and sighed. “I think I understand why you’ve picked up embroidery now. There’s nothing worse than sitting in an office all day.”

“I quite enjoy sitting in an office all day, thank you very much.”

“Because you actually work! I just sit in the corner and watch this guy type and scribble on paperwork all day!”

“My heart bleeds for you.” Arthur stared João down as he yanked a filing cabinet out. The cabinet hit the back of the wall, filled to the brim with files and paperwork. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

João huffed and flared out his wings. “Fine,” he muttered, surging up. Despite the office itself being small at Arthur’s request, he disappeared before hitting the ceiling and found himself back in the plain, neutral colored office of the man he was meant to watch over. Said man was now sitting at his desk and typing away at a computer, completely focused on his work.

João knelt down in front of the desk on his knees. He folded his arms under his head on the desk and stared up at the man. He knew this “Claude” couldn’t see him unless João wanted to be seen, but even if he did reveal himself now, he wasn’t sure Claude would notice. João stood up and hopped up to sit on the edge of the desk, his back to Claude.

“You’re kind of boring, you know that?” he muttered, one wing stretching back to brush over Claude’s cheek. He smirked when Claude paused in his typing to itch over the spot the feathers touched him. João snickered and repeated the motion a moment later over the bridge of his nose, his grin widening when Claude wrinkled his nose and rubbed over the spot his feathers touched.

“Spring,” Claude muttered.

“Sure, keep telling yourself it’s just the pollen,” João chuckled to himself. He turned and sat cross-legged on the desk. He was sitting on paperwork, but he had long since gotten used to the feeling of people phasing through his body.

He sat in the office for the day, though not all of it was spent watching Claude. He flew in and out of the rooms, eavesdropping on conversations. He poked his head into Claude’s boss’s office, grimacing at the sight. His boss sat at his desk and played games on his phone, headphones over his ears.

João went back into Claude’s office and sighed, sitting back down on his desk. “Your boss is a lazy dick,” he muttered. “I wonder why you don’t have his job. You certainly work enough for it.” He rested his chin on his hand, his elbow propped on his knee. He studied Claude a bit more closely, realizing he hadn’t really looked at him yet. Beige blond hair that looked almost too soft was carefully styled over one eye. His other eye was a bright and clear teal, and João found himself leaning in closer to study the color more closely. It truly was a beautiful color, it reminded him of the shallow waters in hidden coves and beaches. A light flush dusted over pale cheeks from concentration.

João reached over to brush his fingers over Claude’s cheek, flinching back when Claude winced and itched over the spot he touched him. His heart pounded in his chest as he drew his hand back, his wings flared out and puffed up behind him. He shook his head and shuddered, drawing his wings back in again. He couldn’t get so worked up over something so small, especially not after just getting assigned this case. He steadied his breathing again and sighed, his shoulders slumping.

“At least I’m given a good looking case this time,” he muttered, resting his chin on his hand again. “Too good looking, I think.”

—

There really was no need for an angel to follow their human around. He would be alerted if there was something about to happen to Claude. Nonetheless, João followed after Claude, sometimes from the air and sometimes by walking behind him as he walked home. João pursed his lips as he watched Claude duck into a bakery just before it closed and buy a packet of cookies at a discount.

“Smart man,” he noted as he strolled beside Claude when Claude came back out. “But it’s rude to eat in front of someone without offering some.” He chuckled at his own joke, but soon sighed and settled for floating beside Claude again. “Come on, choke on one or something,” he whined. “Do something so I can save you. I’m dying of boredom here.”

He huffed when Claude arrived back at home without any incident. At this time he usually left to go bother Arthur some more, but something made him hesitate as Claude closed the door behind himself. João phased through the door to follow Claude deeper into the house, and gasped when he saw Claude kneeling down in front of a dog and ruffling her ears.

“Who is the cutest girl huh?” Claude cooed. João froze as Claude continued to coo over the very fluffy, very large, dog who immediately stopped in her enjoyment of the attention the minute João’s feet touched down on the carpet. Her nose went up and she trotted over to sniff around where João was standing.

There were two things that guardian angels knew to avoid at all costs: mirrors and pets. There was nothing that pets could do to them, but they were troublesome because even if they could not see the angel, they could still sense them. João stood completely still as the dog continued to sniff around him and even licked the air where his hands were tensed at his sides.

“Ha, Pelutze you’re so silly. Do you want to go on a walk?” Claude asked, walking over and ruffling Pelutze’s ears. He hooked a leash to her collar and opened the door. The breeze snapped João out of it, and he surged outside and up, racing up to Arthur as fast as he could.

He burst into Arthur’s office, his chest heaving and his wings a mess. Arthur glanced up from his phone, looking surprised at the sight of his friend.

“I was thinking you were late,” he noted. “What happened? You look terrible.”

“He— Claude— There’s a dog.”

“A dog? So what?”

“Dogs can smell us idiot! Remember?”

“Yes, but they cannot do anything.”

“That doesn’t matter! This guy is going to get suspicious if his dog keeps sniffing nothing!”

Arthur rolled his eyes and slid open a cabinet, leafing through the files until he finally found one and pulled it out. He opened it up and leafed through it.

“How did you get a copy of my file already?” João asked.

“I requested it. I knew you weren’t going to read yours,” Arthur noted. “What does the dog look like?”

“Hm…She was big, and dark brown. Kind of long fur. Her name was, eh..Pelutze I think.”

Arthur turned the page, and burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?!” João demanded.

Arthur slid the file over to João to show him the note on Pelutze. “João, this dog has a threat level _zero_. She’s as harmless as a newborn kitten.” He turned the file to look at it once more and chuckled. “‘Has a tendency to jump on strangers, and licks. Very friendly’,” he read out. “Just don’t reveal yourself to her and you’ll be fine.”

“But—”

“João.” Arthur snapped the file shut. “Aren’t you always saying you don’t need to be around your human all the time anyways?”

João’s wings drooped and he sighed. “I want to work harder, so I stop getting boring cases like these.”

“…Uh-huh.” Arthur picked up his office phone. “Sit down, I will call a healer over.”

“I’m serious!” João’s wings puffed out. “I want to work harder and make sure this guy lives the best, most boring life he can so I don’t have to do it again!”

Arthur studied him for several seconds before holding his hands up in defense. “Fine. But don’t expect anyone else to believe you after a thousand years of minimal effort.”

João pouted but knew better than to push it once Arthur conceded. “I’m going back down, a dog is better than your abuse,” he muttered, surging upwards through the ceiling again. He was taken back down to the park, where Claude was strolling along with Pelutze trotting happily along beside him. Despite her being categorized as no threat, João still kept his distance and flew several feet above and behind them.

He paused when a young woman stopped and knelt down to pet Pelutze, and to chat with Claude. He frowned lightly and flew down closer in front of them, flinching back when Pelutze immediately stood and started to sniff the air, tugging at the leash to try to get closer to João.

“She probably just smells a squirrel,” Claude chuckled, giving Pelutze’s head a rub. “You love chasing new friends, don’t you?”

“She’s so cute! Maybe sometime she could meet Dino, he loves making friends too,” the woman chuckled.

“Ahah, if I have the time that would be wonderful. I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught your name?”

João narrowed his eyes but got an idea. He hesitantly moved closer to Pelutze, his hand reaching out to touch the top of her head. Her tail wagged harder as she finally saw João, and she panted and whined as João stood just barely out of reach. João turned and took off, a wide grin spreading across his face as he heard Claude’s panicked shout behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw Pelutze racing behind him, her leash trailing behind her. Claude ran behind, trying to catch up.

“Pelutze, stop!” Claude shouted. João laughed and turned along the path, phasing through bystanders while Pelutze crashed through them. A few tried to grab her collar or leash to stop her, but were unsuccessful. Claude apologized as he pushed past as well. João could feel his panic as they neared the edge of the park. Once they were far away from the woman, he slowed and turned to sit on a tree branch, smiling when Pelutze barked and stood on her hind legs, her paws against the trunk.

With a snap of his fingers, João disappeared from her vision just as Claude caught up and grabbed hold of her leash. She gave a pitiful whine as Claude recovered his breath.

“Bad,” Claude scolded gently, his hold on her leash tight. “Come on, let’s go home.”

João gave Pelutze’s head a small scratch as he followed beside them. “Good girl.”


	2. Chapter 2

João followed Claude into his house again, taking his time with poking around and seeing what kind of life this man lived. Like he thought, there were not too many decorations save for a few small, carefully placed trinkets and pictures. The place was spotless, or at least as spotless as it could be with a dog living in it. He noticed a bookshelf sitting next to an armchair and browsed over the titles, though most seemed like either cliche romance novels or advice books on how to run a business, how to work more efficiently, how to get the most of a work day, and other similar topics. João looked over his shoulder as Claude strolled through the room and headed upstairs. His curiosity got the better of him and he fluttered up behind him, just in time to see Claude walking into a room and closing the door behind himself.

João poked his head through the door, his face flushing at the sight of Claude stripping down in the bathroom as the shower ran. For sitting at an office all day, he was surprisingly toned. João sat transfixed as he watched, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight of Claude’s body. He jumped in surprise when he felt something phasing through his leg, and pulled out of the room again to see Pelutze, sniffing around him as usual. He sighed and knelt down, revealing himself to her again to ruffle her ears.

“You really are friendly. You’re lucky I like dogs,” he muttered. He laughed softly as she moved closer to lick over his face, her tail thumping against the wall. João jumped back when the bathroom door cracked open and Claude poked his head out.

“Pelutze, please go lay down,” he said, giving her head a small rub before closing the door again. Pelutze whined at the door but reluctantly left to trot back down the stairs. João sighed in relief and got to his feet once more. He looked at the door, then the stairs, then back to the door. Claude could slip and injure himself in the shower. He would know if Claude was about to get hurt, but it would be better to be safe and be right there just in case. With that thought, João strode through the door. As his guardian angel, it was his job to make sure Claude didn’t get hurt, after all.

He still was not prepared for the sight that greeted him. Why did Claude have a completely clear shower door? João sat on the sink counter, knowing it wasn’t just the steam of the shower that was making his face feel hot. The sight of Claude craning his head under the water, his back arching just slightly as the water poured over him and ran over his toned body in rivulets. João’s loose pants suddenly felt much tighter, and he gripped his knees to keep from doing something too hasty.

He felt a pang of disappointment as the door slowly steamed up and blocked his view, though Claude soon turned the shower off and stepped out. João nearly choked when he saw Claude, his hair slicked back from water and droplets coursing down over the dips and lines of his muscles. He tried to push away thoughts of running his tongue up along the trails of water they left behind.

He watched Claude drying off, a dazed smile on his face. He barely even registered Claude reaching through him for something behind him, all he could focus was how close they were. He was close enough to see the shades of teal of Claude’s eyes. His lips looked just as soft close up. João would only need to lean in a little bit and—

“Huh?”

Claude’s expression turned confused, and he drew his hand back. He stood in place and slowly waved his arm around where João was sitting.

“W-What…Who…” Claude stammered, his eyes wide and panicked. João furrowed his brow. Surely Claude wasn’t meaning him. He was invisible to him, that was evident by the hand that passed through him as if he was air. His heart sank in dread when he turned and came face to face with himself.

He hadn’t even noticed the mirror when he came in.

In one swift motion he surged out of the room and down the stairs. He took shelter in the common room with Pelutze, who only lazily thumped her tail at the sight of João. João settled down next to her and gave her head a small scratch.

“That was a close one,” he muttered. “I hope he forgets about it soon.”

That clearly wasn’t going to happen however, as Claude soon shuffled into the living room, clothed in a bathrobe and wielding a broom as if it were a weapon.

“I-I’m not scared..of ghosts..c-come out here!” Claude called out. “I know you’re there! Perverted ghost!”

João stifled his laughter at the sight. “Your master is ridiculous,” he muttered to Pelutze. Pelutze sat up, moving to lick João’s face again.

“Agh, not— not now Pelutze, please I am trying to hide,” he hissed, trying to keep the large dog away from him. However, Claude noticed, and slowly advanced towards them. The broom smacked against the back of the couch as it phased through João. Claude smacked the broom in the same spot again and again.

“Stop— Stop haunting me!” he demanded. “I’ll call an exorcist!”

João stared flatly up at him and sighed heavily. Well, he would be called if something was to happen to Claude. Maybe it was best if he left him alone for a while. He surged up, through the ceiling and back up to the heavens, unaware of the feather that shed from his wing and floated down onto the couch.

—

Claude jumped in surprise at the feather that floated down, seemingly out of nowhere. Pelutze snuffled at it, and he quickly snatched the feather before she had a chance to try to eat it. Claude turned the snow white feather over, noting how it sparkled in the light. It could not have come out of a pillow, it was much too long and soft. The way it shone in the light, as if different colors laid just beneath its surface of white, did not look from a normal bird.

“What…Where did this come from?”


	3. Chapter 3

João avoided seeing Arthur about what happened. He knew that if he told him, then he would never hear the end of that lecture. He stalled for time up in the higher realms, visiting everyone that he knew to try to avoid going back down to see Claude again. He even went down to spend time with Pelutze alone in the house while Claude was at work. She was a very sweet dog, even if she tried to eat João’s wings on more than one occasion. João would always leave before Claude got home though. He worried about what he would do if he saw him again so soon. The memories of how Claude looked undressed and still dripping water from the shower was burnt into his mind. 

However, after a few days it became impossible to ignore the tug that took him to Claude, that made him want to watch over him at all times in case something happened. At least watching Claude was better than inevitably being cornered by Arthur. He fluttered down into Claude’s office, taking his previous spot on top of Claude’s desk. 

He felt a pang of guilt at how Claude looked. He didn’t look bad, but he was noticeably not as polished as usual. His hair didn’t have the same sheen to it, and dark shadows sat under his eyes. His posture wasn’t as rigid, and he often paused in his typing to rub his eyes and yawn. 

“Why are you here if you’re so tired?” João murmured, reaching over to brush his fingers over Claude’s hair. He sighed when Claude only itched at the spot. He moved to instead lay down on the floor. At least then he could keep an eye on Claude without having to feel the desire to touch him, to embrace him fully.

He didn’t even think twice about the woman that stepped into the room, and barely listened in on the conversation. He sighed in relief when the woman was about to leave, only to groan in annoyance when Claude stopped her.

“..feather like this?”

“…soft..a fake.” 

“Out of nowhere…something like this. Look.” 

João frowned and sat up when the window blinds were opened. He rubbed his eyes and got to his feet to see what the commotion was about. His blood ran cold when he saw Claude holding one of his feathers. Claude turned the feather over in the sunlight from the window, showing the woman the different colors that flashed within it.

“What— What fake feather would look like this?” Claude demanded. 

“Claude, I think you really need to sleep. Ghosts on their own are ridiculous, but birdmen ghosts?”

“I know what I saw!” 

“Please promise me you’ll get some rest once your shift is over. I’m worried about you.”

Claude stared at the feather for several moments before sighing and closing the blinds again. “I will try.” 

“Thank you.” 

Claude sank back down into his chair as the woman left. He turned the feather over several more times, admiring the colors that were reflected faintly under the white. He ran his finger over it and sighed. 

João hesitated and sat back on his desk again. “I have something better than just one feather,” he muttered under his breath. He wondered how Claude would react if he appeared to him at that moment. He chuckled at the thought. He couldn’t put Claude’s job in danger like that. 

“Maybe later,” he decided. 

He sat in silence for a few minutes as Claude went back to work. He then went back to moving around the office, poking around and looking at what he could without alerting Claude. He looked over Claude’s shoulder at the report he was reading. He hardly understood it, and it wasn’t long before he got too bored with it.

“Hm..I guess I am sorry for scaring you,” he mused out loud, and gave a small hum of thought as he looked at Claude. “I wonder why you don’t comb your hair back more often. Your eyes are beautiful. Every part of you is very handsome.” He chuckled and shook his head. “It really is a good thing you can’t hear me, huh? I will do better once I see you, I promise.” 

That thought gave João something to do while Claude worked. He ran over what he would say when Claude got home, changing words around, remembering that word wasn’t used anymore and having to think of a better way to phrase it, and most of all how to put it into words how handsome he thought Claude was, even though he looked like he was about to collapse at any moment. 

By the time he finally had decided on what to say, and rehearsed it enough that he was sure he could recite it in his sleep, it was time for Claude to head back home. João praised his luck and followed him home with determination in his eyes and a bounce in his step. He would tell Claude how handsome he was, and Claude would be in awe of his eloquence. He didn’t know what would happen after that, but surely nothing bad would happen from such a heartfelt confession. 

He hummed a light tune as he waited for Claude to get his usual pack of cookies, though he watched in surprise as Claude came back out with a few different boxes, not just a small bag like usual. He shrugged it off and followed him back home, smiling at the sight of Pelutze bounding up to greet them. She looked up at Claude, her nose stretched up towards the boxes in his hands. 

“Sorry, not for you,” Claude chuckled, nudging past her to set the boxes down on the kitchen counter. “Okay, time for a walk. Come on.” 

Pelutze stared at Claude for several moments, her tail faintly wagging. João smiled and ruffled her ears before standing next to Claude, and sure enough, Pelutze went bounding out the door with the two of them. 

“You’re hyper today,” Claude noted as Pelutze trotted along beside him, a bounce in her step. 

João walked beside him as they headed for the usual park. He held his hand up and curled his fingers, as if he were holding a microphone to his mouth. “So Claude, your own dog likes me more than you now. How does this make you feel?” he asked. He held the imaginary microphone to Claude’s mouth, snickering at his own joke.

“Of course you can’t respond. You can’t see me. But…” He hummed and jumped into the air, floating beside Claude as he rested his chin on his hands. “…We will meet soon enough, I assure you.”


	4. Chapter 4

The walk went by far too slowly for João’s liking. Even with his encouragement, Pelutze was still a dog, and as a dog she had to sniff anything that she thought was different, even though Claude took her down the same path every day. There were also new people everywhere that Pelutze had to go and greet. Not even João could stop her now that she knew him, especially when other dogs were around.

Claude didn’t seem to mind however, and João gave up on trying to rush them along after realizing how well the early evening sun complemented Claude’s beige hair, turning it into hues of muted gold. João had to resist the urge to run his fingers through it. It looked almost _too_ soft and silky. Later, he promised himself.

When they finally headed back to Claude’s house, João could not be more relieved. However, he realized he didn’t know exactly what he was going to do. He knew what he was going to say, but what was the best way to do it? Maybe it should be done and over with quickly, like ripping off a bandage. Yeah, that seemed like a good idea.

He waited until Claude went upstairs to his bedroom, knowing it was best if he wasn’t interrupted by Pelutze. João fluttered down to stand tall and proud in front of Claude once they were in his room, and he revealed himself to Claude and cleared his throat. “I—” He was cut off by the closet door slamming into him.

“Y-You!” Claude said, leaning past the closet door to glare at him. “You’re that— that perverted ghost!”

João pushed the door away and rubbed his nose. “I’m sorry if I scared you, but I have a few—” The closet door was pushed into him again, and just as he pushed it away once more, a broom whacked him across the face.

“Why are you haunting me?! How did you get into my house?” Claude demanded as he smacked João with the broom again and again.

Finally João grabbed the broom and pushed it away just long enough to launch himself up and away. “Will you give me a minute to explain myself?” he asked as he rubbed his reddened cheek.

Claude held the broom at the ready, narrowed eyes watching João warily. “…You have thirty seconds.”

“But I— okay okay fine!” João said, holding his hands up in defense when Claude held the broom ready for swinging at him. “The average person doesn’t get to meet their guardian angel, you know. You should be grateful.”

“What kind of ‘guardian angel’ spies on someone in the shower?”

“Well I had poetry to wax about how handsome you were, but you only gave me thirty seconds.”

Claude hesitated, looking torn for a moment, but he lowered the broom. “…Let’s hear it.”

João took a deep breath, about to recite everything he had painstakingly practiced that day, but paused when his mind drew a blank.

“Well?”

“I…may have forgotten.” The broom landed a solid hit on his wing, and he yelped and spun mid air for a second before righting himself up again. “Ow! Don’t do that, my wings are sensitive!” he complained, pouting down at Claude.

“I thought ghosts can’t feel anything.”

“How many times do I need to say it? I am not a ghost, I am your guardian angel!”

“I want a new one.”

“I am the new one.”

“I want another new one.”

“That’s not how it works.”

“Then make it how it works.”

João frowned and crossed his arms. “For being so pretty, you’re very rude.”

“ _I’m_ the rude one? You spied on me while I was in the shower— and I do not want to think about when else— then came out of nowhere and scared me, and said I should be grateful!”

“You hit me with a broom many times, I think we’re even now.”

“You spied on me in the shower.”

“Okay fine, I’m sorry about spying on you, even though it’s my job to watch over you at all times and you could’ve slipped and died if I wasn’t watching you. Can we please move on from that now?”

“You are terrible at apologizing.”

“What do you want from me? Do you want to see me naked too to make it even?”

Claude paused, thinking it over for several moments.

“To be clear, that was not a serious offer,” João said with a grimace. “Not until you put that broom down.”

“Come down here. I want to see your wings.”

“Oh thank goodness,” João sighed. He fluttered down to the floor once more, and he flared his wings out and puffed them out with a proud grin on his face. “Well? Impressive, aren’t they?”

“They’re messy.”

“Wha—” João looked back at his wings and paled. Sure enough, his wings had several feathers sticking out and ruffled. Specks of dirt even dotted quite a few feathers, and there was a clear spot of dust on one wing from the broom. “T-They’re usually more well kept than this, I promise,” he defended as he quickly folded them in again.

“You dropped this feather, didn’t you?” Claude pulled out the feather from his pocket and held it up.

“I did. But I am not a ‘birdman ghost’, thank you very much.”

“Is this a down feather? It is quite soft.”

“That’s just a regular feather.” João hesitated and stretched one wing out. “I know it’s messy, but if you would like to feel, you are welcome to.”

Claude stood for several moments, then leaned the broom against the wall. He stepped over to João carefully, one hand reaching out to run slowly, lightly, over João’s feathers. His breath hitched and he stared, wide-eyed, before burying both of his hands in the mass of feathers, marveling at their softness and the array of colors just under the white.

One single feather could not compare to seeing the rainbow colors all shining faintly together, shifting as Claude moved his hands and as the wings moved in and out with João’s calm, steady breathing. His wings were even larger up close. They almost were as tall as João, and even though João stretched one out several feet behind himself, it looked like it could still reach further.

“Beautiful,” was all Claude could manage to whisper.

João flushed lightly and smiled, closing his eyes in content as he reveled in the feeling of Claude’s strong hands running over his wings. He melted when Claude combed his fingers through the feathers, though he froze at the realization that Claude was straightening them out and fixing them. He snapped his wings shut as tight as he could. “What are you doing?!”

Claude blinked in surprise, as if snapping out of a daze. “They need to be fixed, don’t they?”

“Yes, but— you can’t just do that! They’re— that’s— only close friends and lovers preen one another. It’s a private matter.”

“You know what else is a private matter? _Showering_.”

“I thought we were even! You said we would be if I let you see my wings closer!”

“No, I only asked you to let me see them and you agreed. I did not say it would make us even.”

“It was implied it would make us even!”

“That is not good enough.”

João dragged his hand down his face with an annoyed groan. “Your pretty face is not nearly enough to make up for how much of a jerk you are.”

“You should know better than to try to negotiate with a businessman. But, I will let the spying go if you let me fix your wings,” Claude mused, running his hand over João’s folded wing.

“You might do it wrong.”

“You seemed to be enjoying it when I was fixing them a minute ago.”

João stepped away from him and frowned. “Only the primaries,” he relented. “And you cannot get angry at me anymore for spying on you.”

“Only for the shower incident.”

“Fine, you cannot get mad at me anymore for watching you in the shower.”

“I cannot get upset at you for watching me in the shower four days ago.”

“Do you not trust me that much? That’s the only time, I swear!”

“So we have a deal? You let me fix your primary feathers, and I will not hold watching me in the shower four days ago against you anymore.”

João thought over the sentence several times, replaying it in his head to ensure there was no other loopholes that Claude could use against him. “Fine, we have a deal. It’s more comfortable to do it while sitting down, so get on the bed.”

Claude brightened up and sat cross legged on the bed, patting the spot in front of him. João rolled his eyes and sat down on the bed, his cheeks flushed as he spread his wings out before Claude. Claude set to work on straightening out the longest feathers at once, taking his time with making sure each feather was in place once more. He tried his best to dust them off, but some of the dirt was stubborn. He decided to come back to them later, with a damp rag.

“Do you not have any friends?” he finally asked.

João’s feathers fluffed up. “Excuse me?!”

“Well, you said this was something only close friends and lovers did usually. If your feathers are like this, then that means you have no friends or lovers to help you right?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“So you don’t.”

“I do have friends, thank you very much! I just have been too busy to ask them.”

“Too busy spying on me?”

“No! I have been visiting friends that I am not as close to.”

“You do not have a lover to do this regularly?”

“No, I do not.”

“But you are allowed to take one?”

“We are allowed to do whatever we want, as long as it doesn’t stop us from watching over our human.”

Claude gave a small hum in reply, and João looked over his shoulder to see an amused smile on his face.

“What’s that smile for?”

“Hm? Nothing. I am only admiring how soft your wings are.” Claude realized he hadn’t even asked the angel’s name yet. “…Do you have a name?”

“What do you mean do I have a name? Of course I have a name. It’s João.”

“Well then, it’s nice to meet you João. I’m Claude.” Claude pulled away, and João found himself lamenting the loss of gentle touches over his wings.

“Stay here, I’m going to get some water,” Claude instructed as he got up. “There’s some dirt that is persistent.”

“You don’t have to. I can wash them on my own.”

“It isn’t every day I get to wash an angel’s wings. Let me.”

João sighed and tried to relax as he waited for Claude to return. What was with this guy? One minute he was hitting him with a broom and calling him perverted, and the next he was asking about his love life and trailing his fingers over his wings in a way that was almost loving. It made João’s head spin. He tried to not show his wariness when Claude returned with a bowl of water and a washcloth.

“Is it alright if I use this? It is not too rough, is it?” Claude asked, handing João the washcloth.

João felt over it with a small frown and handed it back. “It’s soft, but it doesn’t matter anyways. I can’t feel my feathers, except for where they’re connected to my wings.”

“I see. I will still try to be gentle.” Claude sat back down behind him, and set to work on wiping the dirt off of his feathers. He hummed a soft tune while he worked, and he noted João’s wings relaxing and unconsciously spreading out more until he was trapped between them.

“Does this feel that good?” he murmured, pausing in his wiping to rest his free hand on João’s damp wing.

“Mhm.”

“You aren’t going to fall asleep on me, are you?”

“Mhm.”

“Do you even know what I’m asking?”

“Mhm.”

Claude smiled at the noncommittal answer and stroked his fingers over the top of João’s wing. However, at the touch, João jerked and snapped his wings shut against his back again.

“What are you doing?” he asked, glaring accusingly at Claude.

“I was trying to help you relax,” Claude defended, holding his hands up. “You seem tired.”

“I don’t need to sleep.”

“But you can sleep?”

“If I want to.”

“Do you want to?”

“…Sleeping is always a pleasant feeling.”

“Then lay down.”

João hesitated for several moments, searching Claude’s face for any sign of deception. When he found none, he reluctantly laid down on his side and his wings spread out behind him a bit as he relaxed again. Claude shifted to hold the bowl of water to the side so João’s wings could lay over his lap. He went back to wiping the dirt off gently, staying as quiet as he could so João could sleep.

“You can, er, fix the rest of the feathers, if you want,” João spoke up, making Claude jump in surprise.

“I thought you were going to sleep?”

“I will. But, if it bothers you that my wings are messy, you can fix them.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. It’s not every day you get to fix an angel’s wings, right?” There was a thin smile on João’s face, and Claude couldn’t help but smile faintly as well.

“I will try to be gentle,” he promised. He felt a warmth in his chest as he carefully went about adjusting and smoothing down as many of João’s feathers as he could reach without shifting João too much. He understood a bit more why this was considered something only close friends and lovers usually did. There was a certain tenderness in the air, as João’s breathing evened out and slowed while Claude’s fingers ran soothingly over his feathers to carefully adjust each one flat and straight, and to set aside the feathers that were already shed and had been stuck.

Even long after Claude made sure every feather that he could reach was smoothed down and clean of any dirt or dust, he stroked his fingers over João’s wings to admire their softness and beauty. He still could hardly believe it himself. A guardian angel, and one that he was able to see? He had heard of children saying they saw angels, and it was rumored to see angels just as one was dying, but here his angel was, sleeping away and letting him fix his feathers. Claude’s smile widened at that. Just when he thought his life was starting to get repetitive, an angel came.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I debated for a full minute whether I should bump the rating up to E because of this chapter

The next day, when Claude got home, he heaved a deep sigh and flopped down on the bed, in front of João who was lounging while reading a romance novel he found. 

“Who died?” João asked with barely a glance up from the book. 

“I did today,” Claude's voice came, muffled by the blankets. 

“Impossible, you're still here. I would've known if you were in any danger.”

“My fingers hurt from typing so much. Why didn't you save me from that?”

João rolled his eyes and set the book aside. He gently grabbed Claude's hand and held it between both of his hands. A soft, blue glow enveloped their hands for a few seconds, and Claude lifted his head to watch in amazement. Once the glow faded and João pulled his hands away, Claude experimentally curled his fingers into a fist and stretched them out again.

“You can do that?” he asked, looking up at João. 

“Of course I can, now give me your other hand.”

“My, so bold. You could at least ask me to dinner before trying to hold my hand.” Claude chuckled and sat up, holding his other hand out to João daintily. 

João snickered and took his hand, enveloping it in the blue glow as before. “Oh be quiet, I'm only doing it because it's my job.”

“Hand pain can lead to my death?”

“What if you're driving when you're super old and you need to turn suddenly but your hands are too stiff to react fast enough because you typed too much and you get in a car crash and die?”

“I hardly drive much.”

“Okay fine, what if you lose mobility of your hands to arthritis and you get fired and you can't get another job so you die of starvation?”

“That sounds a bit impossible with you around.”

“Exactly. So let me do my job so you can keep doing yours.”

“Does your job make you hold my hand for this long?”

João’s face flushed at the realization that the blue glow had long since faded, but he was still holding Claude's hand between his own. “I was making sure there was no other pain,” he grumbled as he let go and picked up his book again. 

Claude smiled and moved to sit next to him. He peeked over his shoulder to skim over the page João was reading, though he quirked a brow at the realization that João was in the middle of reading a very intense sex scene. “My, my,” he teased. “I thought it was a sin to indulge in pornography?”

João’s wings fluffed out and he pointedly scooted away from Claude, his face flushed as he held the book closer. “You were the one that had it, and angels are held to different standards than humans. Besides, I am reading this to laugh at how poorly written it is, not to get pleasure from it.”

Claude sat back with a chuckle. “So you know whether it is written well or not? Do you read that sort of thing often?”

”No, but I do have experience.”

”Oh? Do tell.”

“No.”

Claude raised his hands up in silent surrender at that, and instead focused on taking in the sight of João, an angel, sitting so calmly on his bed. It was impossible to keep his eyes off of those beautiful wings, the way they shimmered different colors in the light. Yet, despite his careful grooming the previous day, several were out of place again. He pouted and moved closer, reaching out to fix them, but the moment he tried, João snapped his wings shut. 

“I thought I told you not to touch my wings,” João huffed as he looked up from his book to glare. 

“You let me fix them yesterday.”

“As part of the deal. I never said you could keep fixing them.”

“If I remember, you only said that you would let me fix your primary feathers. You never specified it was for only one time.”

João narrowed his eyes at Claude, who only continued to smile. Finally he snapped the book closed and pointedly scooted away from him. “Well, it was for that one time. I told you, it's only something that close friends and lovers do.”

Claude pouted and flopped across João’s lap. “I have had such a hard day at work, can I not relax by grooming my favorite angel’s wings?”

“Favorite angel?” João repeated, a light tinge on his cheeks. He furrowed his brow and frowned. “I'm the only angel you know.”

“You don't know that. Perhaps I know many angels.”

“I would know if you did. You would have their aura.”

“Aura?”

“When an angel hangs around a human for any time, their aura starts to rub off onto the human. The human gets marked, in a way.”

“Marked? Like how dogs mark their territory?”

João heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Our aura rubbing off on humans is not like a dog pissing on a tree. It's more like..a cat, I suppose. You know how cats rub their face on things?”

“Some dogs do that as well.”

“Well that's what it's like.”

“Is that why I found your feather on the couch? Do you shed?”

“No. That was a mistake because my wings weren't groomed.”

“You need to be groomed regularly or else you shed everywhere?”

“Exactly.”

“So you are a dog.”

“Why you—!” João looked down at Claude with a flustered expression and Claude burst into laughter. João’s face flushed deeper. It was hard to get mad at him when his laugh was like music to his ears. He sighed and slumped back against the wall. 

“Fine, you can fix my wings, but only because you didn't have a good day at work,” he finally relented. 

Claude sat up, his eyes bright as João shifted and scooted over to sit in front of him, his back facing him again. João twitched slightly as Claude's hands ran over his wings. Usually grooming was nothing intimate between friends, it was a quick fix and done. 

Between lovers it was so much more. Fingers would trace over every feather, songs and tunes would be exchanged in quiet tones, kisses would be placed on some areas. It was hard not to think about that, when Claude's slender fingers were dancing over his wings and fixing each feather as if it was the most important thing in the world. 

João’s face flushed. No, no, there was nothing intimate about this. It was just that Claude didn't know the customs of grooming and was probably in awe of how brilliant his wings were, that was all. No big deal, right? But then Claude ran his fingers over the space in between his wings, and João couldn't hide the way his breath hitched. 

“Are you ticklish here?” Claude asked, his tone amused as he teased the small feathers closest to his back. 

João gritted his teeth and subconsciously stretched his wings out more, to get Claude to touch him more. This was inappropriate, he should stop this. But it felt so good, and he could feel the warmth of Claude's body behind him. He nearly died when Claude wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him back onto his lap.

“Don't squirm so much, you will make it worse,” Claude chided him, his breath ghosting over the shell of João’s ear. He had to know what he was doing to João. There was no way that he didn't. He had to feel how warm João had gotten. Claude was much stronger than João thought, if the way his arm stayed clasped around João’s waist was any indication.

His mind wandered back to seeing how Claude looked in the shower. The long sleeved button up and slacks really did not do him any justice. To think that Claude was so toned under those clothes, it truly was a shame. 

Curse that book for putting too many thoughts into his head. Claude was only to be the human he was supposed to watch over, nothing more nothing less. Yet he couldn't help but wonder how it would feel to be pressed face down into the bed by him. He fantasized Claude nipping and kissing over the sensitive feathers at the base of his wings while he took João, stretching him and pressing deeper than anyone else had. 

Or perhaps he would prefer João as they were now, with João sitting in his lap as he holds him, barely pulling out and thrusting back up into him again. João’s neck and shoulders would be exposed to him to mark up as he pleased, to bite over the sensitive spots on João’s skin to make him cry out to the heavens. He could wrap his deft fingers around João’s erection and stroke him to completion, whispering praises in his ear as João twisted his fingers in the sheets. A shudder ran down his spine and he held back a soft noise. 

“I'm done, you can relax now.”

Claude's voice shocked João out of his thoughts, and he realized how tense he was. He moved to scoot off of Claude’s lap and realized with mortification that his slacks were dirtied, and there was a prominent ache between his legs. He immediately brought his wings forward to shield himself, his face burning bright red. 

“Hey, don't move so quickly, you'll get your feathers messed up again,” Claude sighed. He reached over to smooth down a couple of feathers, and João bit the inside of his cheek. He felt conflicted, wanting Claude to touch him more, to touch him just as gently somewhere else, but also to get away as fast as possible so Claude couldn't touch him anymore and make his problem worse. 

Claude tilted his head and moved to sit in front of João, a worried expression on his face. “Are you alright?”

“I'm fine!” João blurted out, shifting to try to stretch his wings to hide more behind them. “Perfectly fine. You should take Pelutze on her walk before it gets dark.”

Claude blinked a couple of times but smiled and stood up. “You're right, I'm sure she is getting anxious. I'll be back soon.” He headed for the door and tossed a wink back at João. “Enjoy your pornography.”

João had never wished he could curl up and die as much as in that moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! As always, leave a comment and a kudos if you liked it. <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Leave a comment and kudos if you liked it, hopefully there will be more soon >wo)


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